Sweet And Simple

Sweet And SimpleThese beautiful and tasty valentine desserts are as easy as 1-2-3

By Rebecca Broida Gart Photos by Rita Maas

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, thoughts turn to love—and sweets. But if the idea of making an elegant dessert seems too complicated and time-consuming, these five recipes are for you. Each offers the pleasure of a beautiful, homemade confection, and each goes together in only three basic steps.

To some, simple desserts is an oxymoron (my mother-in-law says that if a dessert is easy to make, it can't be any good). But I've found this isn't true. In fact, many professional chefs encourage home cooks to keep it simple by paring down the ingredient list and cooking methods, letting the true flavors of the food—whether fresh fruit, top-quality chocolate, or aromatic spices—come through.

Even if, like me, you're not a natural-born baker and your specialty has never been sweets, making brilliant desserts can be easy. With super-fresh, premium foods and a little imagination, you can transform a basic recipe into a sensational masterpiece. My all-time favorite is the Raspberry Cream Cheese Pie, which looks like it belongs in a pastry case at a gourmet market. I actually feel sheepish when my dinner guests ask me for the recipe and see how easy it is to make.

So invite your paramour over for a romantic Valentine's Day dinner and smile when he or she oohs and aahs over the fabulous dessert. When asked if it was incredibly complicated to make, just say, as I do, "It was simple, my sweet."

Orange Spiced Bread Pudding

Serves 8 / Although traditional bread pudding can be quite heavy, the eggs in this lighter version are the only source of fat.

Serves 6 / You can buy premade crepes to cut down on the time and effort, but homemade crepes are surprisingly simple to make. Don't worry if your first couple crepes are less than perfect; by the third one, you'll be a master.

1. Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk milk, egg whites, and egg. Add to flour mixture, stirring well with whisk until smooth.

2. Coat an 8- or 10-inch frying pan with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Pour 1/4 cup batter into pan and quickly tilt pan so that batter covers its entire bottom. When crepe can be shaken loose and is lightly browned (about 1-2 minutes), turn over and cook on the other side for 30 seconds. Set aside crepes between layers of paper towel.

1. Spoon yogurt into a sieve lined with a paper towel or cheesecloth and set over a bowl. Refrigerate and let drain for 2 hours.

2. Place sugar in a medium nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat until liquefied (watch carefully to avoid burning). Add almonds and sauté until light brown, stirring constantly. Spread out almonds on a piece of foil to cool. Dust with cinnamon and chop coarsely.

Serves 6 / This dessert comes from my friend Louise, who recently made five of these tarts for a dinner party of 40—they're that easy to make. You can use fresh Bosc pears if they are in season, but the dish turns out just as well with canned pears.